Up to Snow Good - Kelly Collins Page 0,15
his own mother, so who knows. He’s not a bad man, my father’s just—”
“No,” Lauren said, “I don’t think he’s bad. I don’t believe anyone is inherently bad.”
He’d said too much and allowed himself to get too close to the truth, but something about her, and his past relationship with her, challenged his need to charm her for his family’s benefit because it wasn’t right.
“Anyway,” Max said, “you don’t have to decide today.”
“I know. I don’t have much time, but I’ve got a little.”
“I’ll ask around about the Santa’s Village, and work on pulling the details together?” This decision wouldn’t make his father happy, but he had to live with himself and the decisions he made. Destroying Lauren would never sit right with him.
“Would you?” She seemed to perk up, and a twinkle of light danced in her dull eyes. “Well, that’s very nice of you. I don’t know how to thank you.”
He waved her off. “It’s not that big of a deal. Half the town are our tenants, the rest will be glad to get in on it for their own benefit. I think it’s a good idea.” He took her hand in his and gently led her away. “C’mon.”
“Where are we going?”
“To make things happen.” He walked her to his SUV and helped her inside before jetting around and taking the wheel. He gunned the engine and could feel her excitement. The tires kicked up loose gravel as he drove forward.
Once at the local branch of Peak Trust and Savings, it was a simple matter to take a meeting with the loan manager, a smiling fellow called Calvin Chen, who was happy enough to discuss a line of credit against Hunter Properties, Inc.
“Sounds like an exciting project,” he said as Max signed the papers.
“It’ll be some work to pull it together in time, but we’ll manage.” He reached over and took her hand in his. It felt warm and right. The sizzle of the past hadn’t left but laid dormant for all these years. There was still something unresolved between them.
She looked at his hand in hers, then lifted her chin to look in his eyes.
“With Mr. Hunter being so helpful and generous, the lodge will do all the heavy lifting.” Lauren gave Max a smile that was too genuine to disguise and a worry that was too real to ignore. “Are you sure about this?”
There was some certainty in Max’s skeptical brain. He was positive she needed his help, and this was the best way to do that. The lodge needed resuscitation, and this was a way to give it new life.
The more Max looked at that beautiful face, the more he basked in the gentle strength she radiated, and the more he felt this was the right move.
In contrast, his father was all bluster and bloat, volume in every regard, overstated and overblown. He’d never doubted his father’s desires, but he found them more and more repulsive and impossible to satisfy. Eaton Hunter would be furious.
Good, Max thought, let him be mad.
He had skills his father lacked; he had charm, and the ability to navigate fury through reason. It had always been their business’s saving grace. They were black and white, night and day, hard and soft. Whatever fires his father ignited, Max put out. The chasms he created were mended by the bridges Max constructed.
His biggest concern was, if he couldn’t turn his father around, this situation would tear them apart. Lauren was an orphan by chance. He didn’t want to be one by choice.
Chapter Twelve
Lauren
Sam kept a straight face, nodding from behind his desk. Lauren could already sense the doubt and worry.
He looked over the documents, shrugging. “Seems straight up enough,” he said, “but I wish you’d have brought it to me before you signed the contract.”
“What was I going to do, turn down a loan?”
“Yes, Lauren, depending on the terms.”
“These terms aren’t unfair.” Hot anger rose in her blood, rushing through her veins. She was an educated woman and didn’t feel the need to consult with a man at every turn. “I made sure of that. I’m not an idiot.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I know you’re not.”
“I’m not some waif in the woods who needs you to sweep in and protect me.”
He broke an awkward smile. “Lauren, look, about the other day, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s okay, I understand, but it’s a weird time.”
“It is,” he said. “We shouldn’t be mixing our professional and personal lives.